Polymer Twists and Bends in the Presence of Light

A liquid crystal elastomer can be programmed to exhibit controllable, dynamic behavior without the need for complex electronic components.

Shape Memory Alloy Mechanisms for CubeSats

This lightweight and efficient mechanism enables retention, release, and deployment of solar arrays and antennas.

Machine Learning Method for Battery Development

The method slashes battery testing times — a key barrier to longer-lasting, faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles.

Method Enables Conductive Gels to Stick When Wet

A new way of making polymers adhere to surfaces may enable better biomedical sensors and implants.

Guiding and Harnessing Transition Waves in Multi-Stable Mechanical Structures

The domino effect is used to design deployable systems that expand quickly with a small push and are stable and locked into place after deployment.

Space Station Garden Shines Light on Earth-Based Horticulture

NASA’s LED lighting system enables food and other crops to be grown indoors in places like skyscrapers.

Leaf-Inspired Surface Prevents Frost Formation

This new design could conserve energy used for defrosting airplanes, appliances, and more.

New Material Enables Stable Semiconductor Neutron Detectors

It can be used both in small, portable devices for field inspections and in very large detectors that use arrays of crystals.

Foldable Mechanical Devices

These “developable mechanisms” are built into the surfaces of structures.

Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA)

This framework determines regional landslide probability in near real time.

Injectable Gel Helps Heart Muscle Regenerate

This gel releases short gene sequences into the heart muscle to heal it following a heart attack.

Products of Tomorrow: May 2020

A cryptographic ID tag, a high-reliability NASA switch, and a stretchable thermoelectric generator...

Analyzing Wear and Tear of Metal

A new method could enable vehicles and equipment to better withstand high temperatures, loads, and speeds.

Process Enables Manufacturing of Stretchy Electronics

Next-generation devices made with a “peel and stack” method could include electronic chips worn on the skin.

Smart Bandages Monitor and Tailor Treatment for Chronic Wounds

Bandages with integrated pH and temperature sensors, and electronically triggered drug release, improve healing.

Facility Focus: NASA Ames Research Center

This NASA center hosts the world’s greatest collection of wind tunnels and flight simulation facilities

Low-Cost Detection of Thin Film Stress During Fabrication

This method uses fiber optic probes for measurement of semiconductors, optical coatings, magnetic read/write heads, and precision machines.

Open-Source Software Analyzes Economics of Biofuels and Bioproducts

This fast, flexible tool allows researchers to quickly compare and prioritize strategies for converting biomass to fuels and products.

Q&A: Turning Trash into Valuable Graphene

A new process will reduce the cost of manufacturing graphene by a factor of more than 100.

Hydrophobic & Oleophobic Coating Technologies for Polymer Optics

With the recent boom in touch-based, polymer display substrates must be fingerprint-resistant.

AI-Based Machine Vision & the Future of Automotive In-Cabin Technologies

Xilinx is now applying AI to the in-cabin environment.

Sussex Researchers Combine Lasers, Computers & THz Waves to Build Camera That Sees ‘Unseen’ Details

The nonlinear camera captures high-resolution images of the interior of solid objects using terahertz (THz) radiation.

Bats Inspire Detectors to Help Prevent Oil and Gas Pipe Leaks

Engineers have developed a new scanning technique inspired by the natural world that can detect corroding metals in oil and gas pipelines.

New Products: May 2020 Photonics & Imaging Technology

Photodetectors, ultrafast lasers, energy sensors, and more.

Moving Precision Communication, Metrology, Quantum Applications from Lab to Chip

A team is exploring new materials for telecommunications and LIDAR applications.

3D Imaging the Biolocomotion of Fruit Flies

The last thing you probably do when a fly buzzes toward you is marvel at its graceful wing and body kinematics. But that’s exactly what researchers at Cornell University’s Itai Cohen Group...

New Graphene-Based Metasurface Capable of Independent Amplitude and Phase Control of Light

Researchers described a new strategy of designing metamolecules.

Properly Designing and Specifying Aspheric Lenses

Aspheric lenses greatly improve the performance and efficiency of a wide range of optical applications.

Product of the Month: May 2020 Tech Briefs

The ADISRA SmartView 4.0 HMI allows builders to see what's going on in their machines.